
At first, people were confused as to why Mack Horton was kneeling.
Alongside Italian bronze medallist Gabriele Detti and Chinese gold medallist Sun Yang, the 23-year-old Australian looked for a moment like he was resting on his knees, his face stern and unmoving.
But Horton was not kneeling. He was standing behind his second place podium at the swimming World Championships in South Korea – refusing to step onto it. To do so, would be to stand beside 27-year-old Sun, a man he called a “drug cheat” after beating him at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Horton did not shake hands with Sun or pose for photographs with his silver medal. He stood back, his jaw clenched and his chin up.
He was furious.
Olympic Gold Medallist Mack Horton is making no secret of his bitter feud with China’s Sun Yang, refusing to share the podium with him at the World Championships. @MimiRoseBecker #9News pic.twitter.com/a5UHP77cey
— Nine News Adelaide (@9NewsAdel) July 22, 2019